


The Secret Keeper

by HolyKingWasteLand



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Bay Movies), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Donatello (TMNT) Needs a Hug, Exhaustion, Gen, Good Older Sibling Donatello (TMNT), Hashi, Not Beta Read, Nyctophobia, Phobias, Protective Donatello (TMNT), Punishment, Secrets, Slightly ooc Splinter, We Die Like Men, fear of the dark, keeping secrets, torture but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 05:29:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20577245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyKingWasteLand/pseuds/HolyKingWasteLand
Summary: Mikey has nyctophobia, only Donnie knows. He keeps it a secret for Mikey's sake, even at his own expense.(Nyctophobia: Intense fear of the dark.)





	The Secret Keeper

Ever since they got rooms of their own a few yeas ago, Donatello has held a secret. It's not his secret, but he holds it close and protects it from prying eyes. For years, he got away with the sneaking around, but it's been getting harder and harder now that Splinter wakes up during the night to do his nightly rounds. He makes sure all his children are in bed, especially Donnie, and this causes problems for the intelligent turtle.

You see, since Mikey was small, he's had an intense fear of the dark. He wouldn't be able to sleep without someone else in the room, along with a lamp or nightlight. So, taking on his role as an older brother, Donnie stayed up every night until the younger was asleep. Sometimes it would be in the lab, he'd be tinkering while Mikey passed out on the pullout lounge. Sometimes he'd stay in Mikey's room until the younger slept.

He never told him no, and never told him to suck it up and get over his fear.

Donatello made sure he was always there for his brother, and never spoke of this secret, as Mikey had begged him not to. He didn't want to be teased by Leonardo or Raphael, and Donnie understood. They pinky-swore on it.

Now, years down the track, Donnie still sits with Mikey until he's asleep. He reads, or hums, or even just lays down with him. But recently, Splinter has been waking up in the middle of the night to check on his sons, so it's harder for Donnie to keep it a secret.

He exits Mikey's room with a soft, "Night Mikey." and then heads to the kitchen for a glass of water. Splinter is in there and raises an eyebrow at him.

"Donatello," His father starts, clearly not surprised by his presence, "what are you still doing up, my son?"

Donnie freezes, and then points at the sink. "Just fetching a drink, then I'll be back to bed." He smiles nervously, and lets out a relieved sigh when Splinter just nods. He get his cup of water and quickly exits, heading towards his room to get some sleep.

That was a close one.

* * *

It happens again a few nights later, Donnie just mumbles about some science project and grabs his drink before leaving. It happens a few more times before Splinter tells him he should just get a drink before going to bed, saves him from getting up every night. Donnie doesn't have an answer for that, just nods and leaves.

A week or so since the first incident, Donnie is guiding a half-asleep Mikey towards his bedroom. Splinter glances up at them, but Donnie doesn't notice, too busy trying to keep Mikey upright.

He lays him down in bed and patiently sits with him for a few minutes, until he knows Mikey is asleep and won't wake until the next morning. He goes around Mikey's room, closing drawers and cupboards, moving clothes piles so they don't look so scary, and then shoves some boxes under the bed so that nothing can fit under there. He smiles and pets his brother's head softly.

He creeps out of the room and closes the door, knowing how Mikey hates seeing the darkness through the crack. He turns around and comes face to face with their father, he jumps in surprise, holding his hand up to his plastron. "Sensei! You startled me." Donnie exhales and Splinter bows his head in apology.

"Forgive me, Donatello. I was simply wondering what you were still doing up?"

"Oh, I just took Mikey to bed. I'll be going to sleep now as well." Donnie explains, not sure what to make of his father's blank expression. Then, the man nods once.

"Of course. Goodnight my son." Splinter says, pressing a kiss to the turtle's forehead.

"Night, Sensei." Donnie smiles and quickly leaves for his bedroom, oblivious to the curious stare of his master.

* * *

This is a nightly occurrence for the next week and a half. Splinter's patience is growing thin with the amount of lies spewing from Donnie's mouth each night. Of course, they're not complete lies, but the turtle is hiding something and Splinter is getting frustrated.

It happens again, one Tuesday night.

Donatello is sitting with Mikey, waiting patiently for his younger brother to fall asleep, but it seems more difficult for him tonight. "What's wrong, Mikey?" Donnie asks, placing down the book he was reading aloud.

Mikey fidgets and then groans. "I can't get comfortable, Donnie! This blanket is too itchy, and it's _cold._" He complains, looking seriously upset at this turn of events. Donatello sighs and nods. He leaves the room and grabs his own blanket off his bed. He brings it back into Mikey's room and swaps them.

"Here, how's this?" He could survive a night without a blanket, and he'd make sure to adjust the heating in their rooms. Mikey lets out a high churr and cuddles into the blanket. 

"Yeah, thanks Don!"

Donatello smiles and nods before picking up where they left off in the book. Before long, the younger is fast asleep and Donnie gets up. He stretches, does his nightly check of the room, and then exits.

"Donatello. It is far too late to be up." A voice says, coming closer to him. Donatello panics and pulls Mikey's door shut quickly, trying to appear casual.

"H-hey Sensei! I thought I heard something so I was checking up on Mikey." Donnie lies easily, but Splinter just shakes his head.

"I have had enough of this. Tell me what is truly going on Donatello."

There's a long tense pause as they stare at each other. Donatello knows he can't, but he feels bad about lying to their father.

"Nothing's going on Sensei, really." Donnie tries, and Splinter huffs.

"Fine. If you will not tell me now, you will be in the Hashi until you do." Still silence, Donnie just looks at the floor. "Very well. Follow me, Donatello."

They walk slowly through the lair until they reach the room in question. Donnie's head is hung low; turns out he really won't be needing that blanket tonight, he thinks bitterly.

Splinter hands him two paddles and a ball. Donnie gets up on the precariously built discipline device, and begins to wobble as the board moves on the ball. He begins hitting the ball from one hand to another and gets into the zone. He just needs to keep this up for a few hours until Splinter breaks and eventually goes to bed.

At least, that's what he had hoped would happen.

In reality, Splinter kept him there all night, hoping for him to finally break and for all of this to be over. But that never happens.

Hours fly by and Donnie's head is spinning so much he think he might faint, but he keeps going, he doesn't break.

The morning doesn't come nearly fast enough, but once it's there, Donnie holds onto the fact that Splinter has to leave the Hashi to train his other sons.

"Donatello, enough." His father's tired command finally comes and the turtle goes crumbling to the ground. Splinter kneels in front of him and asks seriously: "Are you ready to tell me what's going on?" Donnie shakes his head, and Splinter sighs, standing up. "Very well. Get to the Dojo, training in ten minutes." With his back towards the tallest turtle, he doesn't see Donnie's disheartened eyes, but he hears the gentle sigh.

"Hai, Sensei."

He shows up to the Dojo to see Leonardo already there mediating. He goes to the side of the room and sits down, his legs burning and crying for him to take a break. He doesn't receive one.

Splinter shows up five minutes later with their two brothers in tow. They train for what feels like hours, Donatello is not on his A-Game at all, and it really shows in the amount of bruises he leaves with.

Once they leave the Dojo for breakfast, Leo knocks him on the shoulder, making him nearly topple over. "What's up, Donnie? You look like you're about to collapse." The leader says, and the other two look over at the turtle in question. Donnie's legs are trembling and he has to suppress a yawn as he avoids eye contact. The bags under his eyes say enough. "Want a coffee?"

"No thanks, Leo. Think I'm just gonna go to the lab." Donnie replies, watching his brothers' faces drop in horror.

"Who are you and what have you done with Donatello?" Raph half-jokes, and Donnie rolls his eyes.

"Ha-ha very funny. I just didn't get enough sleep last night. It's fine." They miss the guilt in Mikey's eyes at keeping his brother up. Donnie gives them a brief wave and then locks himself in his lab.

He tries to focus on.. something, but his brain is mushy and he trudges over to the pullout lounge. As soon as his face sits the cushions, he's out like a light.

* * *

Soft voices wake him up. He blinks open bleary eyes an sees his brothers all standing around him, looking concerned.

"Do we move him?"

"No, we should leave him be. He's clearly exhausted."

"Shut up you two, you're gonna wake him!"

Donnie groans and sits up, gaining the attention of the brothers. "I'm up, what do you want?" He doesn't mean to sound so blunt, but fatigue aches deep in his bones.

Raphael huffs. "Look what you did, you woke him up!" Donnie laughs and stands up, stretching and then sits back down, his legs feeling like lead.

"Ah shell," Donnie mumbles, gently massaging his right leg. Leo kneels down in front of him with concerned eyes.

"You alright, Donnie?" He asks, and Donnie nods.

"Yeah, nothing's wrong. Just sore from training." He explains and the others nod. He checks the time to see he's slept until lunch, and is about to speak when Mikey pipes up.

"Want some lunch, bro? I'll make you a coffee too!" He offers, pulling Donnie up. The tallest turtle nods with a smile and drags his legs along as they go to the kitchen to eat.

He makes a mental note to also wash Mikey's blankets for tonight. Make them nice and soft again.

* * *

That night, Donnie heads to Mikey's room first thing, does his check of the room, and waits for Mikey to get settled.

He'd been avoiding Mikey's questioning and guilty gaze all day, but at night there's really nothing he can do about it. "I'm sorry if staying up with me is making you tired, Don." Mikey whispers, curling in on himself. Donnie laughs softly and shakes his head.

"It's fine Mikey, and you haven't been keeping me up. My big brain just won't stop thinking, and so I can't fall asleep." He says, only half lying. Mikey nods and scoots over to make room for Donnie. The older turtle appreciates it and lays down, pulling the blanket over both of them (but mostly Mikey).

It's a matter of minutes before they both fall into a gentle sleep. 

* * *

A few sleepless nights in the Hashi follow his next two weeks. It only happens when he gets caught, so he sets up a sort of camera system so he can have eyes and ears in the halls at all times. It helps him to not get caught every night, but there are still a few where he's caught off guard.

Sure he's tired and sore, but on the plus side: he has near perfect balance and great core strength now.

They're all in the Dojo. They've finished their morning training, and are about to go have breakfast when Splinter stops Donnie. They all hesitate at the door, but leave after a look from their Sensei.

The door closes and Splinter sighs. "Tell me."

"No." A soft gasp is heard behind the doors, then a thump, then Mikey groaning and Raph telling him to shut up.

"Donatello, if you do not tell me, you know the consequence." Splinter says shortly, looking down at his son disapprovingly.

"Hai Sensei." Donnie nods and Splinter waves him off. Donnie exits the Dojo and his brothers are watching him with wide eyes. He doesn't meet their gazes, just continues walking to the Hashi.

The other three follow, confused, until they realise where he's headed.

"Whoa, Donnie- are you going to the Hashi?" Raphael asks, shocked at what his brother could have possibly done to deserve it.

"Yep."

"You gonna tell us why?" Leo asks, trying to pry further. Donnie shakes his head.

"Nope."

The two boys groan, but Mikey just looks horrified.

He steps into the Hashi, the brothers hesitating outside, and he closes the door in their faces. With a sigh, he begins.

* * *

Around bed time, Splinter comes to collect him. He heads to their bedroom hall, and stops by Mikey's room.

"Where are you going?" Splinter asks impatiently.

"To say.. goodnight?" Donnie replies unsurely.

Splinter nods curtly. "Be quick."

Donatello enters and sees Mikey's back to him. The youngest turns around with teary eyes and a pout. Donnie sighs and sits down on the edge of the bed, scooping Mikey into his arms. "Shh, it's okay. You're okay." He soothes, gently stroking the back of his brother's head.

"Are _you_?" Mikey asks, pulling away to look at his exhausted brother. Donnie nods, smiling.

"Yeah, but it's time to sleep now. So lay down." He begins tucking Mikey in, and then checks the room before settling back down beside him. "Would you like a book tonight?" Mikey shakes his head. "Okay, what would you like then?"

"Can you just talk to me about your day?" Mikey mumbles, eyes already closed.

"Sure, buddy." Donnie complies, and begins talking about his day. There's not that much to talk about, so it's more like a funny narrative including thoughts he didn't think, and commentary that didn't happen. Mikey falls asleep rather quickly, and he's smiling. Donnie stays for a bit longer.

He falls asleep sitting up, and only wakes up when he falls off the bed. Luckily, he reflexes stop him from being too loud, but he's not sure how long he was out for. He gives his brother a kiss on the head, and then he exits the room.

"Donatello." Comes his angry father's voice. He sighs and turns towards him.

"Hai, Sensei?" Donnie says tiredly. Splinter shakes his head, his eyes are hard and eyebrows are furrowed.

"I am over this! Your lying will not be tolerated. You will stay in the Hashi until you learn this, understood?" Splinter is trying not to yell, his patience is all but gone, and it infuriates him when Donatello just nods and walks past him.

Splinter takes a few deep breaths to try and compose himself. Then, he follows his son into the dark.

* * *

Leo wakes up to a loud noise. He gets out of bed and collects his brothers, but Donatello is missing. The three of them follow the noise of voices down to the Hashi. Raphael slides the door open and sees Donnie on the ground, his paddles and ball are strewn around, and his knees are scraped up.

"Donnie!" Leo gasps, and the tallest turtle and their master look over at them. "Sensei?"

"This does not concern you, Leonardo." Splinter's eyes narrow at the three turtles and then focus back on Donatello. "Tell me, now."

"Sorry Sensei, no."

"Then you will continue!" Splinter yells, startling the other three.

"What?" Leo blinks, watching his brother attempt to stand up again on shaky legs. "No way Sensei! He can barely stand!"

Donnie holds up a hand to silence his brother and then picks up his paddles. "It's fine Leo, I'm not telling." He looks up at Sensei with a grin, wiping the sweat with the back of his hand. "I can do this all day."

He looks down at his paddles and clenches his fists around them. "No matter how many hours I spend in here," He looks up into Splinter's eyes with determination in his eyes, "I'm not breaking."

Splinter looks down with pleading eyes, begging his son to just give in, but it seems the leanest of the brothers was still one of the strongest. Donnie's legs buckle and Mikey tries to step forwards but is stopped by Splinter's arm blocking his way.

"Donatello. If you do not tell me, you will not be leaving this room." Shouts of outrage fill the room, but Donnie just attempts to stand once more.

"Stop! Sensei he's exhausted!" Mikey pushes past and pulls the tall turtle into his arms, allowing Donnie to sag against him like a limp noodle. "I'm sorry Don, I'm sorry, are you okay?" Mikey ignores the burning in his eyes and focuses on his trembling older brother.

"I'm fine Mikey, I'm okay." He attempts to stand up again, reaching for a paddle, but Mikey just tightens his hold. 

"You're not, come on, I'll take you to bed." Mikey helps Donnie up, half carrying the taller turtle in his arms. He looks at Sensei angrily. "He.. He was keeping _my _secret. I'm terrified of the dark and I can't fall asleep alone, so he stays with me until I do." Mikey looks heartbroken. "If I had known keeping it a secret was hurting him I would have told you! But I... I was scared you'd make fun of me." He directs his last line of speech at his two older brothers.

They watch with wide eyes, similar to Splinter's own.

His own son had nyctophobia but couldn't say anything in fear of ridicule? How did he not know this?

"But.. What about patrol?" Raph asks gently, coming around the other side of Donnie to help carry him out. 

Mikey looks up at Raph, and then to a near unconscious Donatello.

"Donnie's always been there with me."


End file.
